By Gene Zaleski
The Times and Democrat
ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Orangeburg County Fire Commission has adopted a policy stipulating that Orangeburg County Fire District personnel must be a member of only one fire department.
“I think it is a very feasible thing to do,” Fire Advisory Board Chairman Kirk Davis said Monday. “It is not taking away from somebody still continuing to help neighboring departments ...” Davis said there are cases when an individual may serve as a chief in one department and as a regular firefighter in another, causing some chain-of-command concerns when fighting fires.
Gene Ball, Orangeburg County Fire System coordinator, said the matter of dual department membership comes into play in dealing with insurance paperwork as well as incident accountability.
“This policy does not affect any fire department member who may be employed and paid by another fire department as an employee of a non-district department,” Ball said. “All ... fire departments are encouraged to allow members of other ... fire district fire departments to participate in emergencies when available.”
Ball said it is also “highly recommended” if a person lives close to or works in a fire department service area other than his or her own home department that the individual have an agreement with the chief of that area to respond while in the vicinity.
“By having a single identification number, fire department members throughout the county will more readily recognize the responder,” Ball said. “It goes for a smoother operation regardless of where you are.”
The new policy ties into the recently implemented fire district accountability system.
Davis said each fire department has been given the appropriate materials so their personnel can be accounted for at a fire scene.
Commissioners last year unanimously approved the implementation of the $6,590 accountability system. The system will include a picture ID for each firefighter, training and personal information in barcode format. The barcode can be read by any emergency services center in the state.
In addition to the barcode, firefighters will be able to place all pertinent information in their helmets.
Also during the meeting, Commissioners voted to purchase two new Pierce Manufacturing pumpers for $456,220. The trucks will replace vehicles that are about 40 years old. The district has purchased around 27 engines from Pierce since its inception in 1998. It is uncertain where in the district the two pumpers will go.
“The quality of the engines surpasses other manufacturers, especially with the underbody support system which has proven to be the best for rural applications of firefighting apparatus,” Ball said in a prepared report. “No other manufacturer supplies such a system on their apparatus.”
Ball said the purchase price of the two fire engines is about $8,272 less than the contract price for the last two engines the district bought in 2007.
The new trucks will be fully upgraded to meet the new 2009 emission standards, he said.
Copyright 2009 The Times and Democrat